WTB - Large (300gb+) 3.5" HD, new, or fairly new

[szsiddiq]

Any offers?

[VRodRider]

Any offers?
go to newegg.com they sell them at a good price

[szsiddiq]

go to newegg.com they sell them at a good price

yea, i know, i just wanted to check here first.
thanks

[livingfortoday]

I have a 320GB on eBay right now, it's at $50
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220087177296

Still got 2 1/2 years of warranty!

[szsiddiq]

nvm

[TEG]

Check out Tigerdirect.com, they have some pretty incredible deals right now, regardless of wether you want PATA or SATA.

TEG

[szsiddiq]

Check out Tigerdirect.com, they have some pretty incredible deals right now, regardless of wether you want PATA or SATA.

TEG

holy crap, you're right

[chipchen]

SATA or ATA? I've got a 300GB SATA for sale... but nowadays, there are some really good prices out there...

[szsiddiq]

SATA or ATA? I've got a 300GB SATA for sale... but nowadays, there are some really good prices out there...

i just impulse bought this:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2851740&CatId=2458

320gb. $65 +7 for shipping. BUT that's about $105 in rebates. you're forced to buy CA virus protection with it. 3 rebates. i've had bad experiences with this b4, so im thinking about canceling the order if i still can.

How much would you sell that 300gb for?

[RedTomato]

Can someone explain this whole rebate thing to me?

I'm not from the US, and reading MacRumors, I see people talking about rebates a lot when discussing buying new toys.

As far as I understand, you buy your toy, which comes with a voucher in the box. You fill in the form, send it in, and they send a cheque to you for the rebate value?

Something's wrong here. I don't understand how companies maintain profit margins if they return approx 60% of the cash price of the product to the buyer?

I also don't understand the comment in the linked HD advert about being able to use multiple rebates - what gives?

We have no such thing here in the UK so I'm at a bit of a cultural loss here.

Thanks if you can illuminate me.

[szsiddiq]

Can someone explain this whole rebate thing to me?

It's a fairly sleazy process actually. Companies that dish out rebates are usually retailers and third party companies that do rebates exclusively - not normally the manufacturer anymore. Actually attaining the rebate check is a long process sometimes. You've got to cut out bar codes from boxes, fill out forms, and mail them to the right place. They generally rely on people getting too lazy, making mistakes, or returning your forms claiming that you did not qualify on some technicality. Since so many will buy something after seeing the low price, and then never follow up on the rebates, companies are able to increase sales, and not have to pay out.

They also break up the rebates into multiple ones: one for $20, another for $50, etc. Each rebate will have a different procedure, and address to be sent to, etc. This makes the process more complicated, leaving more room for error and laziness on the part of the consumer.

Like i said, it's a really sleazy process.

[RedTomato]

Ah thanks. It's been a while since I read up on UK fair trading laws, but I think this is either illegal or heavily frowned upon in the UK.

I'm pretty certain discounts have to be given at the point of sale. You can receive vouchers with a purchase, but the vouchers are generally for repeat purchases, and you get the discount at the till when you use them. Other kinds of mail-in stuff (e.g. free warranty etc) has to be clear and easy to fill in.

I'm almost certain that the complicated procedure you describe would break a UK trading standards law somewhere, maybe even an EU-wide law, which is why we don;t see it here, but I can't remember which laws in particular.

A look through google reveals a few rebate or 'cashback' deals in the UK, every single one of which seems to be either discontinued or under investigation by the Trading Standards Agency.

[szsiddiq]

Ah thanks. It's been a while since I read up on UK fair trading laws, but I think this is either illegal or heavily frowned upon in the UK.

I'm pretty certain discounts have to be given at the point of sale. You can receive vouchers with a purchase, but the vouchers are generally for repeat purchases, and you get the discount at the till when you use them. Other kinds of mail-in stuff (e.g. free warranty etc) has to be clear and easy to fill in.

I'm almost certain that the complicated procedure you describe would break a UK trading standards law somewhere, maybe even an EU-wide law, which is why we don;t see it here, but I can't remember which laws in particular.

A look through google reveals a few rebate or 'cashback' deals in the UK, every single one of which seems to be either discontinued or under investigation by the Trading Standards Agency.

yea, i really wish it were illegal here, but if you play sharp, you do get some good deals out of it. you've just got to be careful of which ones you go for.

The US is much more driven towards consumer spending and less towards consumer protection than europe, and most of the world in general.

[madmaxmedia]

There's nothing fundamentally illegal or illicit about rebates, unless the company is not paying legitimate rebate submissions.

What basically happens is that rebates allow retailers to advertise a lower price than they could on a regular discount, because rebate redemption percentages are relatively low (under 50%).

So you take a hard drive that sells for $150, you can discount it to $125, or offer it at $75 after rebate(s).

It works out well if you are conscientious about submitting the form for your rebate. And that's completely under your control. I used to be bad about it and would always miss the expiration date, but now I make sure I fill out the form the first couple days after I buy the item.

[bobber205]

The few rebates I've gotten took 4 months to come in. And one was just for 5 dollars. :rolleyes:

[Maxwell Smart]

I've heard really bad things about tigerdirect rebates, and I believe that there is some like ridiculous hidden surcharge with that antivirus deal where they charge you 3 months later or something, I would steer clear but that is just me.

[szsiddiq]

I've heard really bad things about tigerdirect rebates, and I believe that there is some like ridiculous hidden surcharge with that antivirus deal where they charge you 3 months later or something, I would steer clear but that is just me.

I've had bad Circuit City + CA rebate experiences, and I've heard bad things about tiger direct, so i am trying to cancel my order, but I havent had any luck getting connected.

That said, I'm still looking for a big hard drive for my 2nd project (once the tablet is done):-D